[UAH] Fresh protest against MPs’ pay lined up - Politics - nation.co.ke

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MPs in Parliament. Lobby groups against the MPs' plot for a pay increase will Tuesday march to Parliament to tell MPs to accept the Sh532,500 monthly pay set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. Photo/FILE 

Lobby groups against the MPs' plot for a pay increase will Tuesday march to Parliament to tell MPs to accept the Sh532,500 monthly pay set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The protest comes within days of reports by some MPs that they had already drawn their pay of Sh851,000, prompting the SRC to warn that whoever gets paid more than prescribed will be made to pay it back.

It also comes three days after Parliament cancelled its Jubilee celebrations — at which it had sought to open its doors to the public.

The event was cancelled after the National Intelligence Service raised security concerns about the wisdom of letting the public into the hallowed chambers of the august House at a time when the public is hostile to the lawmakers for their push for higher perks, just two months into their term.

The march, according to one of the activists, Mr Okiya Omtatah, will begin at Uhuru Park's Freedom Corner and end at the gates of Parliament.

Mr Boniface Mwangi, one of the organisers of the march dubbed "Occupy Parliament Reloaded" told the Nation yesterday that the activists were under "immense pressure" not to protest.

Mr Mwangi who has successfully executed two protests against the greed of the MPs — the mock State funeral of the Tenth Parliament and the pig protest for the 11th Parliament — said the protest will be peaceful.

Rule number one to the protesters according to Mr Mwangi is for them to "stay cool, especially when harassed".

The team has already decided on the hashtag — the Keyword to allow people to follow the protest online — to be used. It will be #Occupyparliamentreloaded or #OPR or #MPigs.

They are keen to take advantage of Article 37 of Kenya's Constitution which prescribes that "Every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities".

"We shall stick together at all times and we shall leave parliament together after we deliver our message," Mr Mwangi noted in his tweets on Monday ahead of the Tuesday protest.

He said the group had trained over 100 volunteers to keep an eye on the troublemakers who infiltrate the protests to cause mayhem.

"Beware of agent provocateurs -The agent provocateur may be a paid agent enlisted by MPs or their surrogates to incite people," said Mr Mwangi, in one of the eight "rules" for the march.
"Do not prevent, or attempt to prevent, a police officer from carrying out their duties as long as the officer doesn't infringe on your rights," said Mr Mwangi.

He's also asked all the protestors to "sit down" when they are asked to do so. He added that any "suspicious" behavior will be reported to the police, and added that damage to property will not be tolerated.

"No alcohol or pre-drinking. No violence. No weapons. No destruction or vandalism. The demonstration is a peaceful event," Mr Mwangi added.